A   HISTORY   OF 
THE   GIRLS'  HIGH   SCHOOL 

1852-1902 


A  HISTORY 

OF  THE 

GIRLS'    HIGH    SCHOOL 
OF  BOSTON 

1852-1902 

BY 

LUCY   R.  WOODS 

CLASS  OF  1865 


f)rfntefl  at  tljc  IltbcrctUc  flrcB0 
1904 


THIS  brief  history  of  the  Girls'  High 
School,  prepared  at  the  request  of  the 
Samuel  Eliot  Memorial  Association, 
and  published  under  its  auspices,  is 
also  a  part  of  the  recognition  of  the 
semi-centennial  of  the  school. 

In  gratefully  acknowledging  all  as- 
sistance that  has  been  rendered,  Miss 
Woods  desires  especially  to  mention 
the  aid  given  by  Miss  Caryl  and  Miss 
Knapp. 


2072804 


WHILE  the  book  is  in  press  comes 
the  tidings  of  the  death  of  the  author. 
It  seems  fitting,  therefore,  that  to  the 
word  of  introduction  written  by  her 
should  be  added  a  word  of  apprecia- 
tion in  the  name  of  her  readers,  who 
will  inscribe  on  its  pages  a  grateful 
"  In  Memoriam." 


A  HISTORY  OF 
THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL 

1852-1902 

IN  1825,  when  the  good  city  of  Bos- 
ton allowed  its  girls  to  attend  the 
public  schools  but  six  months  in  the 
year,  from  April  to  October,  the  Rev. 
John  Pierpont  proposed  the  establish- 
ment of  a  "public  school  for  the 
instruction  of  girls  in  the  higher  de- 
partments of  science  and  literature." 
The  committee  reported  favorably, 
setting  forth,  not  only  the  general 
expediency  of  giving  to  women  an 
education  which  should  fit  them  to 
exert  a  salutary  influence  on  their  fam- 
ilies and  society,  but  also  the  special 


2  A   HISTORY   OF 

advantages  of  establishing  a  school 
which  should  stimulate  the  brightest 
pupils  in  the  grammar  schools,  furnish 
teachers  for  the  primary  schools,  and 
perhaps  try  the  monitorial  system, 
which  might  later  be  introduced  into 
the  lower  schools. 

The  city  appropriated  two  thousand 
dollars,  and  in  January,  1826,  the 
school  was  established.  But  at  once 
came  the  problem.  Instead  of  ninety 
candidates,  the  largest  number  that 
had  ever  presented  themselves  for  ad- 
mission to  the  Boys'  High  School, 
nearly  three  hundred  girls  appeared 
at  the  appointed  place,  on  Washing- 
ton's birthday,  1826,  because  "they 
wanted  to  know,  you  know."  One 
hundred  and  thirty  were  admitted,  and 
on  February  twenty-seventh  the  school 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL    3 

opened,  under  the  wise  and  vigorous 
administration  of  Mr.  Ebenezer  Bailey. 

This  experiment  was  short-lived.  In 
vain  the  committee  raised  the  stand- 
ard of  requirements  for  admission, 
and  both  raised  and  limited  the  age 
of  admission.  The  numbers  increased. 
Mayor  Quincy  was  alarmed.  "  No  city 
could  stand  the  expense,"  he  declared. 
He  also  objected  to  the  school  because 
it  was  for  the  few  rather  than  for  the 
many,  and  was  therefore  benefiting  the 
more  privileged  classes  of  the  commu- 
nity. In  1828,  after  an  existence  of 
two  years,  it  was  discontinued.  Girls 
were,  however,  to  be  allowed  to  attend 
the  grammar  schools  the  entire  year. 

To  many  friends  of  education,  this 
was  a  great  blow.  Mr.  Bailey,  who  by 
this  time  had  set  up  a  successful  pri- 


4  A    HISTORY   OF 

vate  school,  came  to  the  defense  of  the 
democratic  principles  of  higher  educa- 
tion. In  a  vigorous  review  he  pointed 
out  that  the  school  had  been  an  ex- 
periment, the  first  of  its  kind ;  it  had 
aroused  deep  interest  in  our  own  coun- 
try, in  England,  and  even  on  the  Con- 
tinent; it  had  been  visited  almost  daily, 
reported,  and  approved  by  earnest  stu- 
dents of  education.  If  it  had  failed, 
the  failure  had  been  of  support,  not  of 
principle,  and  it  should  be  so  stated. 
The  citizens  of  Boston  were  proud  of 
their  schools  and  grudged  no  expense ; 
the  schools  were  not  charitable  institu- 
tions for  the  poor  alone,  they  were  for 
the  community.  As  for  the  school  be- 
ing select,  not  democratic,  scholarship 
should  be  the  only  test,  and  that  was 
a  necessary  test  for  any  higher  institu- 


THE   GIRLS'  HIGH   SCHOOL   5 

tion,  and  gave  equal  opportunities  to 
all.  The  mayor  had  hindered,  annoyed, 
and  neglected  the  school  in  petty  and 
undignified  fashion.  "  The  only  com- 
munication from  the  board  with  which 
I  was  favored  for  more  than  a  year," 
says  Mr.  Bailey,  "was  a  letter  from 
the  mayor,  reprimanding  me  in  good 
set  terms  because  the  young  ladies, 
of  their  own  free  will  and  notion, 
had  agreed  among  themselves  to  wear 
black  silk  aprons  to  exhibition." 

So  great  was  the  influence  of  Bos- 
ton in  educational  matters,  that  the 
discontinuance  of  this  school  no  doubt 
retarded  the  whole  movement  in  the 
country  for  the  higher  education  of 
girls  at  municipal  expense. 

Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  passed. 
In  1852  Boston  had  been  a  city  for 


6  A    HISTORY    OF 

thirty  years :  its  population  numbered 
one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand,  and 
Mr.  Nathan  Bishop,  first  superintend- 
ent of  schools,  made  known  the  need 
of  a  place  where  young  women  might 
be  trained  as  teachers  for  the  primary 
and  grammar  schools.  This  utilitarian 
view  disarmed  opposition,  and  in  Sep- 
tember, 1852,  our  school  began  its 
honorable  career  as  the  Normal  School, 
opening  its  doors  to  the  one  hundred 
young  women  who  formed  its  first 
class.  It  was  a  notable  moment  in  the 
educational  history  of  Boston.  Charles- 
town,  four  years  before,  and  Dorches- 
ter the  same  year,  had  established  high 
schools  for  both  boys  and  girls,  but  this 
was  the  first  permanent  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  city  of  Boston  to  give  to 
its  girls  an  education  higher  than  that 


THE   GIRLS'  HIGH   SCHOOL    7 

of  the  grammar  schools ;  and  among 
all  the  later  high  schools  established 
in  the  districts  of  greater  Boston,  the 
Girls'  High  School  is  unique  in  that 
it  escapes  both  the  advantages  and 
disadvantages  of  coeducation. 

The  average  age  of  the  first  class 
admitted  was  somewhat  greater  than 
that  of  any  later  class.  Mr.  Loring 
Lothrop,  who  had  been  master  of  a 
grammar  school,  was  put  in  charge  of 
this  experiment,  for  an  experiment  it 
was  felt  to  be.  He  seems  to  have  been 
well  fitted,  in  many  respects,  for  his 
task.  His  method  was  to  impress 
upon  his  pupils  a  sense  of  their  own 
responsibility;  to  them  belonged  the 
future  success  or  failure  of  the  school. 
We  have  heard  in  late  years  of  stu- 
dents who  prefer  "  to  remain  in  their 


8  A   HISTORY   OF 

rooms  and  have  their  studies  sent  up," 
who  lounge  passively  before  an  in- 
structor as  who  should  say,  "  If  you  in- 
terest me,  it  may  be  worth  my  while 
to  listen."  But  on  no  such  flowery 
beds  of  ease  were  these  first  Normal 
School  girls  carried  to  their  goal.  Mr. 
Lothrop  could  hardly  be  called  a  stren- 
uous teacher;  he  presided  over  the 
classes  rather  than  taught  them.  If 
text-books  were  not  clear  or  satisfac- 
tory, the  teacher  did  not  explain ;  it 
was  the  pupils  who  must  seek  till 
they  found  the  clear  exposition,  the 
solution  of  the  difficulty.  In  literature 
they  must  analyze  in  detail  and  grasp 
with  some  power  the  works  studied. 
"  Could  any  method  have  been  wiser 
for  girls  fitting  for  teachers  *?  "  asks  one 
of  Mr.  Lothrop 's  pupils,  who  also 


THE    GIRLS'  HIGH   SCHOOL   9 

bears  witness  to  the  high  ideals  of  duty 
which  he  presented.  After  two  years' 
successful  work,  the  course  was  ex- 
tended to  three  years,  more  studies 
were  added,  and  in  1854  the  school 
became  the  Girls'  High  and  Normal 
School. 

In  1856  Mr.  Lothrop  resigned  to 
open  a  private  school,  and  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Henry  Seavey  became  principal. 
In  stature  kingly,  a  Saxon  giant,  he 
was  secretly  and  familiarly  known  to 
the  girls  as  Absalom,  or  Jupiter  Am- 
mon.  Recently  one  of  his  oM  pupils 
has  been  known  to  mistake  the  colos- 
sal cast  of  Sophocles  in  the  school 
corridor  for  his  statue,  —  and  there  is 
a  resemblance.  Impressive  in  person- 
ality, with  power  for  what  we  should 
now  call  mind  reading,  his  influence 


io  A   HISTORY   OF 

over  both  teachers  and  pupils  was  al- 
most magnetic,  —  fortunately  for  good. 
No  other  head  master  has  known  so 
many  pupils  personally.  In  every  de- 
tail of  the  school  his  influence  made 
itself  felt.  Before  the  days  of  depart- 
mental methods,  teachers  were  sup- 
posed to  teach  every  subject,  and  Mr. 
Seavey,  well  furnished  intellectually, 
gathered  his  assistants  in  little  groups 
and  planned  and  directed  each  course 
of  study,  stirring  them  to  dissatisfac- 
tion with  their  own  attainments,  and 
urging  the  habit  of  systematic  study 
as  the  great  means  of  growth.  The 
natural  sciences,  mathematics,  and  phi- 
losophy were  his  special  interests ;  in 
all  branches,  his  mind  tended  to  anal- 
ysis and  classification.  A  keen  sense 
of  humor  lightened  toil.  Exacting  in 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL    n 

his  demands  for  thoroughness,  he  was 
also  generous  and  sympathetic,  a  true 
moral  force. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  school,  its 
character  as  a  training  school  for  teach- 
ers was  maintained  by  the  existence  of 
primary  and  grammar  school  classes 
under  the  same  roo£  a  "  Model 
School,"  where  the  pupils  of  the  "  Nor- 
mal "  might  observe  and  practice  their 
art.  But  in  a  year  or  two  these  classes 
were  removed,  and  in  Mr.  Seavey's 
time,  other  methods  were  used.  Teach- 
ing exercises,  as  they  were  called,  re- 
quired the  pupils  to  recite  or  expound 
as  if  they  were  instructing  those  igno- 
rant of  the  subject,  and  the  members 
of  the  class  were  to  indicate  the  weak 
points  of  the  exposition  by  well-di- 
rected questions.  If  a  teacher  were 


12  A   HISTORY    OF 

delayed  in  going  to  a  lesson,  certain 
members  were  to  take  charge  and  the 
work  went  on.  When  the  quicker 
minds  had  mastered  a  subject,  prob- 
lems far  in  advance  of  the  class  were 
given  to  them;  meantime  the  class 
was  divided  into  groups,  to  be  coached 
by  the  brighter  girls  till  the  class  as  a 
whole  could  advance.  Often  the  abler 
girls  helped  to  correct  papers  and  ab- 
stracts. This  was  a  great  privilege. 
When  a  teacher  was  absent,  girls  of 
the  higher  classes  substituted,  some- 
times for  a  week  or  two ;  for  short  pe- 
riods, they  were  even  sent  out  as  sub- 
stitutes to  the  primary  and  grammar 
schools,  catching  up  with  their  classes 
when  they  returned  because  they  were 
able  girls  and  required  less  drill  work. 
Yet  there  was  always  enough  for  every 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL    13 

one  to  do,  as  outside  reading  was  sug- 
gested in  most  subjects. 

Even  with  all  these  methods,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  acquisition,  scholar- 
ship, became  the  main  interest  of  the 
school;  and  in  1864,  to  emphasize 
and  cultivate  the  Normal  Department, 
what  was  known  as  the  Training 
School  was  set  up  on  Somerset  Street, 
under  the  charge  of  Miss  J.  H.  Stick- 
ney,  a  young  and  enthusiastic  grad- 
uate of  Oswego.  To  this  training 
school  the  girls  might  go  after  three, 
or  even  two  years  of  study  in  the  main 
school.  Here  they  were  to  learn  meth- 
ods, to  practice  in  a  model  school,  to 
gain  inspiration  and  power  for  their 
great  vocation.  Mr.  Seavey  encour- 
aged or  discouraged  those  who  wished 
to  take  this  course,  and  his  word  was 


i4  A    HISTORY   OF 

usually  accepted  as  final,  for  bold  was 
the  maiden  who  could  withstand  his 
influence. 

Till  1858  the  course  had  been  three 
years  in  length,  but  then  began  the 
labor  of  love  known  as  the  Advanced 
Class.  Girls  who  wished  to  pursue 
more  advanced  studies  might  remain 
a  fourth  year.  A  room  adjoining  Mr. 
Seavey's  was  allotted  to  them.  No 
teacher  was  in  charge.  Mr.  Seavey 
and  other  teachers  gave  freely  their 
time  and  interest  to  this  small  group, 
which  numbered  at  first  not  more 
than  ten  or  twelve.  To  that  select  few 
(regarded  with  awe  and  admiration  by 
the  younger  classes),  in  close  personal 
touch  with  the  teachers,  with  leisure 
for  genuine,  steady  work,  yet  enjoy- 
ing their  freedom  and  their  fun,  the 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL    15 

advanced  year  seemed  perhaps  the 
choicest  of  all.  It  was  during  this  pe- 
riod that  the  great  Civil  War  shook 
the  country  to  its  foundations.  The 
school  felt  its  influence,  and  took  its 
little  part  in  the  great  tragedy.  Those 
who  remember  the  war  must  always 
feel  sorry  for  those  who  can  never  see 
this  great  nation  rise  and  stir  herself 
as  when  she  struggled  for  self-preser- 
vation and  freedom.  Upon  the  school 
fell  the  great  shadow,  and  day  by  day, 
as  the  news  came  of  crushing  defeat, 
of  heroic  daring,  or  of  victories  gained 
with  awful  loss,  depression  and  exal- 
tation, a  sense  of  what  our  country 
stood  for  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
a  glimpse  of  her,  purified  so  as  by  fire, 
and  a  vision  of  the  beauty  of  sacrifice 
even  unto  death  smote  the  minds  and 


1 6  A   HISTORY   OF 

hearts  of  the  girls  and  changed  all  his- 
tory and  literature  and  life  for  them. 
Hot  arguments,  too,  there  were,  polit- 
ical discussions  that  sometimes  threat- 
ened to  break  the  peace.  But  Mr.  Sea- 
vey  held  the  reins  firmly  and  wisely; 
and  while  he  recognized  that  the  deep 
problems  must  work  their  different 
effect  on  different  minds,  calm  and  ju- 
dicial, yet  with  a  fire  beneath  that 
every  one  felt,  he  inculcated  that  "  mal- 
ice towards  none,  charity  towards  all " 
which  was  the  highest  note  struck  by 
the  great  war. 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  school  could 
not  be  satisfied  with  wearing  badges, 
or  rejoicing  in  the  holiday  that  some- 
times marked  the  announcement  of  a 
victory,  or  tramping  to  Faneuil  Hall 
to  a  great  mass  meeting.  Early  in  the 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL    17 

war,  the  girls  gave  the  work  and  the 
Latin  School  boys  the  material  for  the 
outfit  of  Company  D  of  the  Twelfth 
Massachusetts  Regiment,  called  unof- 
ficially the  Latin  School  Regiment, 
Colonel  Fletcher  Webster,  Captain 
Shurtleff,  and  many  others  having  been 
Latin  School  boys.  Up  from  the  Bed- 
ford Street  school  marched  the  boys 
bearing  the  bales  of  flannel,  and  in  the 
dark  old  hall  of  the  Mason  Street  build- 
ing gathered  the  teachers  and  girls  of 
our  school  to  cut  and  make  the  gar- 
ments which  the  men  wore  to  the  war. 
Mr.  Francis  Gardner,  Master  of  the 
Latin  School,  often  strolled  in  to  ad- 
vise, and  indeed  advice  was  sometimes 
necessary,  as  when  it  was  discovered 
that  the  soldier  boys  could  not  possi- 
bly sit  down  in  some  of  the  garments 


1 8  A   HISTORY   OF 

as  they  were  cut.  "But,"  answered 
Miss  Knapp,  with  ready  wit,  "they 
are  for  the  standing  army." 

When  the  news  of  Lee's  surrender 
came,  the  old  hall  shone  with  the  red, 
white,  and  blue.  None  of  those  pre- 
sent can  ever  forget  the  solemnity  of 
the  words  in  which,  a  few  days  later, 
Mr.  Seavey  spoke  of  the  death  of 
President  Lincoln.  Bereavement  had 
touched,  more  or  less  nearly,  perhaps 
almost  every  girl  in  the  school,  in  the 
course  of  the  war,  and  this  death 
seemed  to  emphasize  and  unify  all 
single  griefs. 

Grateful  recognition  should  be  made 
of  the  service  rendered  to  the  school 
at  this  time  by  members  of  the  school 
committee,  when  that  office  had  no 
connection  with  parties  and  politics, 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL    19 

and  the  relation  was  a  vital  and  per- 
manent one.  Men  of  education  and 
culture,  honored  in  the  community, 
some  of  them  with  ample  leisure,  they 
studied  the  welfare  of  the  school, 
knew  its  teachers  and  many  of  its  pu- 
pils personally,  and  were  recognized 
by  all  the  pupils  as  friends.  Such  men 
were  Dr.  Le  Baron  Russell,  almost 
constant  in  his  attendance ;  Dr.  Arthur 
Lyman ;  Rev.  S.  K.  Lothrop ;  Dr. 
Thomas  M.  Brewer  and  Dr.  A.  A. 
Gould,  eminent  naturalists,  who  gave 
the  first  impulse  to  the  study  of  natural 
history,  the  latter  personally  conduct- 
ing our  first  botanical  and  geological 
excursions;  Rev.  Henry  Burroughs, 
at  one  time  rector  of  Christ  Church, 
so  familiar  with  the  workings  of  the 
school,  that  at  the  death  of  the  master, 


20  A   HISTORY   OF 

it  seemed  natural  that  he  should  serve 
till  a  successor  was  appointed.  To 
these  and  many  others  who  gave  freely 
time,  thought,  and  service,  the  school 
is  still  a  debtor. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  school, 
many  were  its  visitors.  Some  went  as 
friends  of  education  to  observe  and 
judge  the  experiment,  but  to  it  were 
also  taken  the  guests  of  the  city  or  of 
its  friends,  that  they  might  see  what 
Boston  was  doing  for  girls.  When 
Carl  Zerrahn  was  teacher  of  singing, 
and  later,  when  Julius  Eichberg  suc- 
ceeded him,  opportunities  were  given 
through  them  to  hear  great  artists. 
The  musical  standard  of  the  school 
was  kept  high  and  pure  in  the  hands 
of  such  masters  of  their  art.  In  the 
days  of  the  great  musical  festivals,  the 


THE  GIRLS'   HIGH  SCHOOL   21 

girls  of  the  High  and  Normal  School 
had  the  place  of  honor  in  the  great 
chorus,  as  their  teacher  acted  as  con- 
ductor, and  they  were  supposed  to  be 
more  in  touch  with  him,  and  to  act, 
in  a  way,  as  leaders.  These  festivals, 
which  were  prepared  for  such  guests 
of  the  city  as  the  Prince  of  Wales  or 
the  Grand  Duke  Alexis  of  Russia, 
gave  a  fine  opportunity  to  see  those 
dazzling  beings,  and  sometimes  led  to 
other  festivities,  as  when  the  young 
ladies  of  the  senior  class  were  invited 
to  a  party  on  the  Russian  warship,  and 
featly  footed  it  on  deck  with  the  young 
Russian  officers,  whose  magnificence 
temporarily  obscured  the  charms  of 
Boston  boys. 

All  applicants  for  admission  to  the 
school  were  required  to  pass  an  exam- 


22  A   HISTORY   OF 

ination ;  the  older  pupils  were  asked 
to  help.  To  share  the  labors  of  these 
days,  as  well  as  the  festive  lunches  with 
the  teachers  at  noon,  was  a  great  honor. 
In  the  school  formal  examinations 
were  few.  Carefully  prepared  abstracts 
or  the  written  solution  of  problems 
served  to  show  pupil  and  teacher 
whether  the  subject  had  been  mas- 
tered. There  were  no  marks  of  any 
sort,  no  diploma  was  given,  but  every 
one  knew  then  quite  as  well  as  now 
who  were  the  able  and  who  the  de- 
ficient scholars,  and  a  certificate  in  the 
form  of  a  note  from  the  head  master 
was  given  to  any  one  who  dared  ask 
for  it,  stating  her  standing  in  scholar- 
ship and  whether  she  had  qualities 
likely  to  insure  success  in  teaching. 
During  the  year,  the  best  scholars  in 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   23 

the  senior  class  were  appointed  to 
prepare  what  were  known  as  "spe- 
cial exercises."  The  subjects  might  be 
scientific,  historical,  literary,  or  of  gen- 
eral interest.  After  thorough  criticism, 
these  papers,  usually  of  considerable 
length,  were  presented  before  the 
whole  school.  At  the  end  of  the  year, 
a  public  week  was  substituted  for 
the  customary  "exhibition."  During 
this  week  the  regular  school  exercises 
went  on  before  recess ;  after  recess, 
daily,  the  most  interesting  of  these 
special  exercises,  somewhat  shortened, 
were  reproduced  in  the  hall,  with  mu- 
sic to  accompany  and  enliven.  Many 
were  the  friends  of  the  pupils  and  of 
the  school  who  showed  their  interest 
in  this  simple  public  week. 

In  1868  Mr.  Seavey's  death  brought 


24  A    HISTORY   OF 

what  seemed  an  irreparable  loss  to  the 
school.  He  had  borne  great  physical 
suffering  for  many  years  with  unflinch- 
ing courage.  For  his  character  and 
influence  the  school  may  well  be 
grateful. 

Mr.  Ephraim  Hunt  succeeded  Mr. 
Seavey.  His  term  of  office  began  in 
what  old  graduates  call  the  old  build- 
ing, on  Mason  Street,  which  had  been 
the  home  of  the  school  from  the  first. 
Mrs.  Henry  Wright  (Miss  Julia  Jel- 
lison),  a  pupil  and  later  a  teacher  in 
the  school,  has  charmingly  sketched 
the  old  neighborhood.  "  A  beautiful 
residential  quarter,  not  without  old- 
fashioned  charm  and  dignity,  then  lay 
in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The  fine 
old  houses  of  Colonnade  Row  were 
still  the  abodes  of  the  Lawrences  and 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   25 

other  merchant  princes,  and  the  front 
windows  of  the  school  looked  into 
gardens  beautiful  in  spring  with  peach 
and  apple  blossoms.  Temple  Place 
was  a  quiet  nook,  isolated  from  the 
business  world.  Summer  and  South, 
Bedford  and  Chauncey  streets,  were 
full  of  stately  houses  and  beautifully 
shaded  with  great  trees.  High  Street 
did  not  then  belie  its  name,  but  took 
a  picturesque  course  up  hill  as  in 
colonial  days.  Between  its  old  houses 
one  had  occasional  glimpses  of  the  sea. 
"Many  eighteenth  or  early  nine- 
teenth century  houses  of  wood,  with 
fine,  fan-lighted  front  doors,  still  stood 
in  their  gardens  of  fruit  trees.  It  used 
to  seem  a  necessary  part  of  one's  edu- 
cation to  go  and  gaze  reverently  upon 
the  abode  of  our  local  great  men,  of 


26  A   HISTORY   OF 

whom  not  a  few  dwelt  in  the  near 
neighborhood  of  the  school,  —  Ed- 
ward Everett  in  his  old  Summer  Street 
mansion,  Wendell  Phillips  on  Essex 
Street,  Theodore  Parker  in  Exeter 
Place,  and  others  whom  we  may  not 
take  time  to  recall." 

A  little  later  business  began  to  creep 
in.  Newmarch's  famous  "  tuck-shop  " 
on  Bedford  Street,  said  to  be  entirely 
supported  by  the  patronage  of  the 
three  neighboring  schools,  was  sup- 
plemented by  the  grocer  on  the  corner 
of  West  and  Mason  streets,  whose 
sales  of  pickled  limes,  hard  crackers, 
and  gingersnaps  were  fabulous. 

At  first  the  school  was  allowed  only 
the  upper  rooms  of  the  north  end  of 
the  building  on  Mason  Street,  now 
occupied  by  the  School  Committee. 


. 


Mi 


THE   MASON   STREET   SCHOOL 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   27 

The  Public  Library  was  on  the  ground 
floor.  In  1858,  when  it  was  removed 
to  Boylston  Street,  what  had  been  the 
delivery  room  became  the  school  hall. 
Dark  and  gloomy  it  might  seem  to 
unaccustomed  eyes,  but  to  those  who 
remember  Miss  Temple's  dainty  fig- 
ure leading  the  merry,  graceful  gym- 
nastics, or  the  music  lessons  with  Mr. 
Zerrahn,  or  the  celebrations  of  public 
week,  or  the  general  reunions,  it  puts 
on  a  festive  brightness  all  its  own. 

In  1861  the  city  bought  the  build- 
ing next  the  school,  then  used  by  the 
Natural  History  Society ;  and  when  a 
little  later  the  society  moved  its  trea- 
sures to  its  spacious  mansion  on  Ber- 
keley Street,  the  two  buildings  were 
connected  by  a  one-story  structure, 
the  top  of  which  served  as  an  open  air 


28  A   HISTORY   OF 

bridge,  over  which  teachers  and  pupils 
might  flit. 

Who  can  depict  the  charm  of  the 
dark  old  schoolhouse  to  those  who 
have  not  felt  it?  Who  can  forget 
Purgatory,  known  only  to  the  elect, 
to  which  the  virtuous  retired  for  study 
in  moods  of  stern  determination;  or 
the  sky-lighted  octagon  room,  so  de- 
lightfully unlike  a  schoolroom,  sur- 
rounded by  balconies  lined  with  glass 
cases,  the  legacy  of  the  Natural  His- 
tory Society?  Pleasing  terrors,  like 
those  excited  by  ghost  stories,  hung 
about  certain  corners  and  pervaded 
the  cellars.  Low  ceilings,  blind  turn- 
ings, disused  stairways,  mysterious 
trap-doors,  tempted  the  adventurous, 
—  sometimes  to  their  own  destruction 
or  disgrace,  —  and  not  always  discour- 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL    29 

aged  by  young  and  sympathetic  teach- 
ers, as  ignorant  as  their  flock  concern- 
ing where  kdder  or  trap-door  might 
lead,  till  a  crash,  or  a  foot  through  the 
ceiling  of  a  class-room,  made  it  seri- 
ously clear.  Old  jokes  and  traditions 
were  handed  down  from  class  to  class, 
and  endeared  the  old  building  to  those 
who  dwelt  in  it. 

The  autumn  of  1870  saw  the  school 
established  in  the  new  mansion  on 
West  Newton  Street,  substantial,  dig- 
nified, and  large  enough,  it  was  be- 
lieved, for  all  future  needs.  It  was 
the  pride  of  the  city,  the  show  school. 
The  dedication  of  the  building  took 
place  in  April,  1871.  On  that  occa- 
sion Dr.  Samuel  Eliot  formally  pre- 
sented, in  the  name  of  the  Social  Sci- 
ence Association,  the  casts  selected  by 


30  A   HISTORY   OF 

Mr.  C.  C.  Perkins,  and  the  reproduc- 
tion of  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon, 
the  gift  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  M. 
Barnard.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  movement  towards  school  decora- 
tion in  Boston.  Much  has  been  done 
since  then  in  our  own  city  and  else- 
where, but  our  hall  is  still  unique 
in  its  beauty,  and  many  of  those  who 
have  passed  in  and  out  of  its  doors 
would  acknowledge  the  inspiring  and 
refining  influence  of  the  gracious  and 
majestic  figures  that  adorn  it. 

For  four  years  Mr.  Hunt  was  head 
master  of  the  school.  "  He  certainly 
had  the  enthusiasm  and  the  high  ideals 
of  youth,"  writes  one  of  his  pupils. 
"  Perhaps  he  had  also  its  lack  of  per- 
spective and  sense  of  proportion."  He 
was  something  of  an  iconoclast.  In 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   31 

his  firm  belief  that  a  girl's  mind  was 
equal  to  the  work  of  a  college  course, 
he  was  in  the  front  rank  of  educational 
reform.  (At  that  time  the  only  col- 
leges open  to  women  in  the  United 
States  were  Oberlin  and  Vassar.)  "  He 
had  his  hobbies,  and  was  easily  moved 
to  ride  them.  He  loathed  the  great 
mogul,  Per  Cent,  to  which  the  public 
schools  bowed  down.  '  What  do  you 
expect  to  learn  in  this  school?'  he 
used  to  ask  us.  We  were  well  drilled 
in  the  answer,  '  To  care  for  our  health, 
to  love  the  truth,  and  to  know  how 
to  study.' "  The  valedictorian  of  one 
class  enumerated  the  three  prominent 
ideas  that  had  been  set  before  Mr. 
Hunt's  pupils :  sincerity,  the  nobility 
of  work,  the  idea  and  practice  of  treat- 
ing girls  with  candor  and  honesty. 


32  A    HISTORY    OF 

"  We  have  never  been  soothed  with 
false  praise,  nor  cajoled  into  good 
humor;  we  have  been  taught  to  look 
facts  in  the  face."  A  man  of  this  sort 
might  lack  tact,  he  surely  had  strong 
prejudices,  but  he  left  his  mark  on  the 
school  and  on  his  pupils.  He  was  in 
advance  of  the  ordinary  practice  in  his 
zeal  for  the  thorough  teaching  of  the 
sciences.  Even  in  the  dark  laboratory 
of  the  Mason  Street  school,  the  teach- 
ing of  text-books  had  been  supple- 
mented by  experiments  performed  by 
the  teacher  or  by  Professor  Marshall 
of  Tuft's  College,  but  in  the  new 
school  the  physical  sciences  began 
to  be  taught  by  specialists  with  well- 
equipped  laboratories.  Mr.  Hunt's 
influence  and  that  of  Miss  Lucretia 
Crocker  enlisted  the  interest  of  Dr. 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   33 

Asa  Gray  and  Professor  Louis  Agassiz, 
who  made  valuable  contributions  to  the 
departments  of  botany  and  zoology. 

Meantime,  once  more,  the  Normal 
element  seemed  to  be  taking  a  subor- 
dinate place.  Under  the  strong  lead- 
ership of  Miss  Stickney,  many  eager 
young  teachers  had  been  trained  and 
sent  forth;  in  1872  it  was  decided 
that  the  Normal  School  should  be 
made  separate  and  independent.  Dr. 
Larkin  Dunton  was  made  its  princi- 
pal, and  the  Girls'  High  and  Normal 
School,  with  all  its  traditions,  became 
the  Girls'  High  School,  whose  func- 
tion, in  relation  to  the  Normal  School, 
was  to  give  training  and  scholarship 
which  should  make  possible  and  pro- 
fitable the  special  study  of  methods 
in  the  Normal  School. 


34  A   HISTORY   OF 

In  1872  Dr.  Samuel  Eliot  accepted 
what  he  often  called  the  happiest  work 
of  his  life,  the  charge  of  the  Girls' 
High  School.  He  brought  to  its  ser- 
vice all  that  a  life  peculiarly  rich  in 
opportunities  had  wrought  in  a  nature 
singularly  lofty  and  fine.  Born  of  a 
stock  whose  privileges  of  birth  and  for- 
tune had  been  constantly  used  for  the 
public  good,  he  too  had  served  the 
cause  of  education,  his  city,  and  her 
charities  in  many  public  and  private 
ways.  Years  of  study  and  travel  had 
brought  him  rare  scholarship  and  culti- 
vation. To  all  these  gifts  of  mind  and 
character  he  added  that  power  to  work 
on  minds  and  hearts  which  makes  a 
great  teacher.  History  and  literature 
were  most  attractive  to  him.  He  him- 
self was  known  as  the  author  of  sev- 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL  35 

eral  historical  works,  and  as  he  gath- 
ered the  classes  for  familiar  lectures 
and,  with  the  slightest  outline  in  dates 
and  topics,  unrolled  before  them  the 
great  panorama  of  the  world's  life, 
characterizing  each  period  in  a  few 
perfect  words,  giving  color  and  life 
by  masterly  touches  of  illustration, 
sending  the  girls  away  to  study  with 
enthusiasm  in  their  class-rooms  the 
great  period  to  which  he  had  intro- 
duced them,  he  made  the  dry  bones 
of  history  to  live.  It  was  as  if  a  fresh, 
invigorating  breeze  had  swept  all  dim- 
ness and  dulness  away.  Dr.  Eliot's 
pupils  well  remember  his  lessons  in 
English  literature  and  mental  philoso- 
phy. Impressive  as  they  were,  there 
was  no  deliberate  formality  or  solem- 
nity. The  work  went  on  most  natu- 


36  A   HISTORY   OF 

rally  and  simply.  "  As  we  look  back 
at  them,"  says  one  of  his  pupils,  *'  we 
are  reminded  of  the  pleasant  course 
of  a  little  brook  slipping  through  the 
woods,  now  sparkling  into  ripples  of 
fun  and  amusement,  sometimes  hushed 
and  deepened  under  the  shade  of  a 
tragic  subject  like  Macbeth,  but  al- 
ways alive  and  full  with  the  life  and 
fulness  of  our  teacher's  great  and  gen- 
tle spirit.  Reverence  seems  the  fitting 
word  in  describing  the  final  effect  of 
his  teaching.  Reverence  for  the  au- 
thor's spirit;  reverence  for  the  mys- 
terious movements  of  the  world's  life ; 
reverence  for  the  divine  power  that 
shaped  and  guided  the  thought  of  the 
poet  and  the  statecraft  of  the  nations ;" 
and  reverence  too,  we  may  add,  for 
the  minds  he  was  training.  Patient 


THE  GIRL'S  HIGH  SCHOOL  37 

and  sympathetic  with  the  dullest,  with 
a  recognition  of  limitations  as  well  as 
of  ability,  he  ministered  without  haste 
and  without  rest  to  all.  Without  haste, 
we  repeat.  It  is  difficult  to  explain  the 
change  that  later  years  have  brought 
to  the  school.  The  curriculum  had 
been  extended,  laboratory  work  was 
required,  the  standard  of  scholarship 
was  high,  the  diploma  of  graduation 
was  a  fixed  fact,  preceded  by  the  or- 
deal, since  abolished,  of  supervisors' 
written  examinations ;  yet  there  was 
a  certain  atmosphere  of  "peace  and 
quiet "  favorable  to  thought  and 
study.  "  Those  were  the  days,"  writes 
one  of  Mr.  Hunt's  pupils,  and  it 
had  been  true  from  the  beginning, 
"  when  we  had  leisure  and  inclination 
to  read  out  of  school  for  our  pleasure 


38  A   HISTORY   OF 

many  books  which,  in  these  days,  alas, 
are  sometimes  urged  upon  young  peo- 
ple for  their  profit."  Leisure  there  was 
also  to  see  or  hear  distinguished  men 
or  women  whenever  they  might  visit 
the  school,  and  give  it  of  themselves. 
Mr.  Eichberg  brought  Madame  Ru- 
dersdorff,  Antoinette  Sterling,  and  Ad- 
elaide Phillips.  Charlotte  Cushman 
thrilled  her  young  audience  with  the 
great  trial  scene  from  "  Henry  VIII." 
At  a  moment's  notice  classes  were 
summoned.  "All  go  to  the  hall. 
Monsieur  de  Lesseps,  or  Dom  Pedro, 
Emperor  of  Brazil,  is  to  say  a  few 
words  to  the  girls."  And  these  plea- 
sures seemed  to  stimulate  rather  than 
to  retard  school  work. 

In  1874  the  fourth  year  class  was 
accepted  by  the  city  as  an  integral 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL  39 

part  of  the  school.  When  but  four 
colleges  were  open  to  girls,  Dr.  Eliot 
offered  collegiate  work  under  his  own 
supervision  to  those  who  desired  it. 
He  believed  that  in  the  Girls'  High 
School  advanced  work  might  go  on 
indefinitely,  and  that  these  maturer 
pupils  might  be  a  sort  of  Sixth  Form, 
setting  high  standards  for  all  lower 
classes.  He  was  touched  when  he 
heard  that  they  called  him  their  Dr. 
Arnold,  for  he  had  taught  them  to 
honor  that  great  teacher,  and,  indeed, 
his  girls  were  right.  He  seemed  like 
the  father  of  a  great  family  as  he  held 
the  morning  exercises  for  the  whole 
school  in  the  hall.  It  was  a  worship- 
ping congregation.  When  he  spoke 
to  the  school,  whether  of  the  beauty 
and  simplicity  of  the  great  art  of 


40  A   HISTORY   OF 

Greece,  whose  masterpieces  adorned 
the  hall,  or  of  some  current  event,  or 
of  a  point  in  school  life,  or  of  the 
break  which  death  had  made  in  the 
ranks,  one  spirit  breathed  through  all : 
the  humility  of  true  wisdom,  the  joy 
of  fellowship  in  work,  a  faith  in  the 
school  and  its  principles,  a  simple  de- 
pendence on  God. 

When  failing  health  compelled  Dr. 
Eliot  in  1876  to  lay  down  the  work 
so  dear  to  him,  keen,  indeed,  was  the 
sense  of  loss,  yet  for  twenty-two  years 
he  kept  close  and  unbroken  his  rela- 
tion to  the  school.  At  its  anniversaries 
and  its  festival  days,  he  was  always 
present,  and  his  clear,  resonant  voice 
stirred  the  eager  listeners  as  of  old. 
He  always  welcomed  an  invitation  to 
talk  informally  to  any  class  on  a  his- 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL  41 

torical  or  literary  subject.  He  went 
year  after  year  to  the  class  reunions 
of  his  old  pupils.  His  words  were  the 
"heart  of  the  reunion,"  and  always 
there,  as  at  the  larger  meetings  of  the 
Girls'  High  School  Association,  he 
taught  loyalty  to  the  school. 

Dr.  Eliot's  successor,  Colonel  Ho- 
mer B.  Sprague,  came  from  Brook- 
lyn, where  he  had  been  in  charge  of 
the  Adelphi  Academy.  Both  pupils 
and  teachers  of  that  period  remember 
Colonel  Sprague's  unfailing  courtesy 
and  genuine  kindness.  He  sympa- 
thized with  the  spirit  and  aims  of  the 
school,  and  made  few  radical  changes. 
Many  measures  were  adopted  to  pro- 
mote health,  comfort,  and  safety :  the 
provision  for  nutritious  lunches,  im- 
provements in  ventilation,  the  rear- 


42  A   HISTORY   OF 

rangement  of  seats  to  secure  proper 
relation  to  light,  the  fire  drill,  all  show 
the  head  master's  care  for  good  phy- 
sical conditions.  His  interest  in  the 
study  of  English  literature  secured 
improved  text-books  and  the  freer  use 
of  the  Public  Library.  The  system  of 
instruction  was  made  more  strictly  de- 
partmental, securing  division  of  labor 
and  concentration  of  force.  Colonel 
Sprague  was  a  strong  advocate  for 
the  supply  of  free  text-books  to  all 
public  school  children,  a  measure 
which  passed  the  legislature  at  this 
time,  —  a  measure  concerning  which 
there  were  and  still  are  varying  opin- 
ions. 

The  annexation  of  Roxbury,  Dor- 
chester, Charlestown,  Brighton,  and 
West  Roxbury  to  the  city  of  Boston 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL  43 

since  1858  had  added  five  high  schools 
to  the  city.  Pupils  from  the  suburbs 
were  allowed  to  attend  the  central 
high  school,  and  many  availed  them- 
selves of  the  privilege,  especially  when 
a  four  years'  course  of  study  in  a  high 
school  was  required  of  all  those  who 
entered  the  Normal  School,  as  the 
suburban  schools  provided  only  a  three 
years'  course.  This,  with  other  causes, 
very  much  increased  the  number 
of  pupils  in  the  Girls'  High  School. 
To  counteract  the  tendency  to  cen- 
tralization, it  was  deemed  necessary  to 
secure  uniformity  in  the  high  schools 
by  placing  all  upon  the  same  course 
of  study.  This  course,  arranged  by 
the  supervisors,  was  to  serve  for  all 
pupils  not  fitting  for  college.  All  boys 
desiring  such  preparation  were  to  go 


44  A   HISTORY   OF 

to  the  Boys'  Latin  School,  but  this  ar- 
rangement made  no  provision  for  girls; 
and  setting  aside  a  proposition  to  or- 
ganize a  college  preparatory  depart- 
ment in  the  Girls'  High  School,  the 
committee  established,  in  1878,  the 
Girls'  Latin  School.  This  occupied 
rooms  in  the  Newton  Street  building, 
the  Normal  School  having  by  this 
time  removed  to  Dartmouth  Street. 
Mr.  John  Tetlow  became  master  of  the 
new  Latin  School;  and  when,  in  1885, 
Colonel  Sprague  accepted  a  position 
in  the  far  West,  Mr.  Tetlow  added  the 
care  of  the  High  School  to  that  of  the 
Latin  School. 

The  eighteen  years  that  have  elapsed 
show  many  changes.  Boston  counts 
nine  high  schools,  many  of  them 
housed  in  new  and  beautiful  build- 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL  45 

ings ;  yet  with  all  this  multiplication 
of  suburban  schools,  the  central  school 
still  suffers  from  overcrowding.  A 
schoolhouse  built  for  about  nine  hun- 
dred pupils  has  been  made  to  hold  over 
twelve  hundred.  This  means  the  seat- 
ing of  over  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  girls  in  rooms  intended  for  one 
hundred,  giving  up  recitation-rooms 
for  crowded  permanent  class-rooms, 
and  sometimes  using  corridors  for  re- 
citation-rooms. A  slight  relief  came 
when  the  upper  classes  of  the  Latin 
School  were  moved  to  Copley  Square, 
but  the  growth  of  the  Latin  School 
has  again  necessitated  the  use  of  more 
rooms  by  that  school,  and  both  schools 
suffer. 

When  the  church  next  the  school 
was  sold,  many  friends  hoped  that  the 


46  A   HISTORY   OF 

city  would  buy  the  land,  and  erect  a 
low  building  that  should  provide 
gymnasium,  laboratories,  and  class- 
rooms, yet  deprive  the  main  building 
of  no  light  or  air,  while  the  space 
gained  would  enlarge  the  yard,  and 
make  possible  for  the  girls  a  recess  in 
the  open  air.  The  Newton  Street  half 
of  the  lot,  however,  is  occupied  by  a 
new  church  and  parsonage,  but  the  lot 
on  Pembroke  Street  has  been  secured 
by  the  city,  and  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  at  no  distant  day  it  will  be 
used  to  give  the  much  needed  relief. 
The  old  schoolhouse  has  great  possi- 
bilities. If  it  could  be  renovated  and 
supplemented  by  an  annex,  no  more 
need  be  asked. 

The  need  for  more  room  is  partly 
due    to    the    varied    and    expanded 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL  47 

courses  of  study.  As  far  back  as 
1860  a  choice  in  foreign  languages 
was  offered  to  entering  pupils,  but  the 
popular  elective  system  is  now  in  op- 
eration in  all  the  high  schools.  In  our 
own  school,  there  is  now  the  commer- 
cial course,  introduced  in  1898,  the 
college  course,  begun  as  a  recognized 
department  in  1899,  anc^  tne  general 
course,  broader  than  either,  and  offer- 
ing more  opportunities  for  electives 
than  the  other  two.  The  system  is  an 
experiment,  and  no  doubt  the  expe- 
rience which,  we  are  told,  worketh 
hope,  will  work  wisdom  also  in  its 
administration.  With  the  develop- 
ment of  educational  theory  and  prac- 
tice, not  only  courses  of  study  but 
methods  of  teaching  have  changed, 
and  it  is  doubtless  true  that  the  school 


48  A   HISTORY   OF 

offers  better  opportunities  to  those 
fitted  to  profit  by  them  than  ever 
before. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  crowded 
condition  of  the  school.  We  ought  to 
note  that  the  increase  of  members  is 
largely  in  the  junior  class.  More  than 
half  the  class  that  entered  in  Septem- 
ber, 1892,  had  dropped  out  by  Sep- 
tember 1893.  An  entermg  class  of 
540  made  a  middle  class  of  but  270. 
We  cannot  discuss  in  detail  the  causes 
of  this  falling  off.  There  is  no  enter- 
ing examination  to  sift  the  graduates 
of  the  grammar  schools ;  the  children 
are  younger  and  often  unfit  to  cope 
with  high  school  studies ;  many  come 
from  homes  where,  under  similar  con- 
ditions, the  parents,  fifteen  years  ago, 
would  never  have  thought  of  sending 


THE  GIRLS'   HIGH   SCHOOL  49 

their  children  to  a  high  school;  in 
many  cases  they  mean  to  give  them 
but  one  year  more  of  schooling;  and 
indeed  one  cannot  regret,  for  their 
own  sake,  the  departure  of  those  who 
will  be  more  stimulated  by  steady, 
useful  work  than  by  studies  for  which 
they  are  not  prepared,  in  a  school 
where  their  abiding  presence  must 
lower  the  intellectual  standard, — 
girls  who,  later,  when  the  real  desire 
for  self-improvement  awakes,  may 
find  their  right  place  in  the  evening 
schools,  or  in  some  of  the  many  classes 
offered  to  young  people  by  clubs  or 
settlements  or  "educational  centres." 
From  all  that  has  been  said,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  mission  of  our  school 
enlarges  as  conditions  change,  varie- 
ties of  nationality  increase,  and  new 


50  A   HISTORY   OF 

problems  of  social,  intellectual,  and 
moral  standards  confront  it.  Amidst 
all  these  changes  the  school  is  most 
fortunate  in  its  head  master.  Mr.  Tet- 
low's  just,  firm,  and  kind  administra- 
tion, his  genuine,  chivalrous  respect 
for  what  is  best  in  the  girls,  make 
themselves  felt.  He  recognizes  the 
problems  of  the  present  and  future, 
but  hopefully  points  to  three  power- 
ful aids  towards  their  solution,  — 
a  strong  corps  of  teachers  who  recog- 
nize their  duty  and  their  responsibil- 
ity, a  large  body  of  alumnse  in  cordial 
touch  with  the  school,  noble  tradi- 
tions. 

Of  the  teachers  it  is  impossible  to 
speak  in  detail,  yet  any  sketch  of  the 
school  would  be  all  imperfect  that 
failed  to  name  some  who  in  the  past 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   51 

have  been  builded  like  living  stones 
into  the  very  structure  of  its  life.  Of 
those  who  began  work  with  Mr.  Lo- 
throp  two  are  living,  Miss  Johnson 
and  Miss  Eastman,  full  of  years  and 
honor. 

Soon  after  the  first  class  was  grad- 
uated in  1855,  three  of  its  mem- 
bers became  teachers  in  their  own 
school ;  Miss  Caryl  at  once,  the  other 
two  a  little  later.  Miss  Bacon's  gen- 
tle, reserved  dignity  of  manner  and 
almost  shy  speech  hardly  suggested 
the  intellectual  force  that  lay  behind. 
Stricken  with  mortal  illness  in  the 
midst  of  service  in  1870,  she  never 
lived  to  see  the  expansion  of  the 
school,  though  she  was  a  fruitful  in- 
fluence in  its  early  life.  Miss  Badger, 
"  superb  in  her  youthful  beauty,"  ma- 


52  A    HISTORY   OF 

jestic  in  the  gracious  dignity  of  her 
later  years,  who  can  forget  the  power 
of  her  teaching  and  her  personality  ? 
Broad-minded,  clear-sighted,  scholarly, 
how  her  reserve  fascinated  while  it 
awed  the  girlhood  which  it  touched. 
"  She  made  me  ashamed  of  my  little- 
ness," says  one  of  her  pupils.  Pro- 
gressive in  spirit,  determined  to  have 
and  to  give  the  very  best,  she  truly 
and  literally  laid  down  her  life  for  the 
school. 

At  the  celebration  of  the  fiftieth 
anniversary,  Miss  Caryl  was  naturally 
the  central  figure.  To  honor  her  was 
to  honor  the  school  of  which  she  is  so 
true  a  part  that  she  can  never  really 
leave  it.  Her  pupils  remember  her 
teaching,  — clear,  persistent,  thorough, 
patient,  but  when  all  lessons  are  for- 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   53 

gotten  they  will  remember  her;  the 
dullest  could  recognize  the  honesty, 
clear  as  the  day,  the  simplicity  and 
humility  of  mind,  the  utter  devotion 
to  duty,  and  the  unfailing  kindness 
that,  like  the  sunshine  of  the  Lord, 
falls  on  the  evil  and  the  good,  on  the 
just  and  on  the  unjust. 

After  this  notable  trio  of  the  class 
of  '55  came  Miss  Helen  Avery, 
'*  with  mind  of  rare  distinction;"  Miss 
Emma  Temple,  tingling  with  life  in 
delicate  body,  keen  mind,  and  sensi- 
tive spirit,  —  positive,  eager,  stimulat- 
ing. Then  followed  Miss  Scates  and 
Miss  Knapp,  the  latter  such  a  con- 
stant friend  and  helper,  so  full  of 
cheerful,  sympathetic  interest  in  the 
school,  that  the  teachers  still  count 
her  one  of  their  number,  though  she 


54  A   HISTORY   OF 

felt  compelled,  ten  years  ago,  to  drop 
the  daily  routine.  Miss  Sylvester,  ap- 
pointed in  1860,  is  the  only  one  of 
the  older  group  now  in  active  service. 
When  she  withdraws  her  kindly  pre- 
sence, an  element  will  depart  that  can 
never  be  replaced.  As  we  speak  of 
Mrs.  Wright  (Miss  Jellison),  who  from 
her  English  home  still  testifies  her 
faith  in  the  old  school,  sending  charm- 
ing memories  and  earnest  messages 
to  class  reunions  as  well  as  to  great 
celebrations,  we  must  pause,  though 
many  other  names  come  to  our  mem- 
ory, fresh,  full  of  inspiration.  These 
are  the  forces  of  the  past.  We  must 
believe  that  those  who  live  and  work 
for  the  school  in  the  present  and  the 
future  will  be  no  less  wise  and  strong. 
From  1855  to  1860  the  teachers 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   55 

appointed  were  all  graduates  of  the 
school.  Since  then,  and  wisely,  many 
trained  elsewhere  have  taken  their 
places  in  the  ranks.  Where  two  as- 
sistants once  sufficed,  the  corps  now 
numbers  thirty-three.  Besides  the  head 
master,  there  are  now  two  masters,  Mr. 
Knight,  in  charge  of  the  commercial 
department,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Thurber, 
whose  written  and  spoken  words  on 
the  teaching  of  English  have  made  his 
class-room  not  only  a  place  where 
many  a  bright  girl  has  been  stirred 
and  guided  to  sound  and  scholarly 
taste  in  literature,  but  also  a  Mecca 
for  pilgrims  who  long  to  learn  his 
ways.  Of  the  "  large  body  of  alum- 
nae "  upon  whom  Mr.  Tetlow  depends, 
we  mention  first  the  Girls'  High  School 
Association,  which  aims  to  unite  all 


56  A   HISTORY   OF 

past  members  of  the  school  for  fellow- 
ship and  service.  This  association  ar- 
ranged and  carried  out  the  celebration 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  held  in  Jan- 
uary, 1903.  No  one  present  on  that 
occasion  could  doubt  the  influence 
of  such  a  loyal  body  of  graduates. 
Under  its  auspices  the  Seavey  Fund 
does  its  quiet,  gracious  work.  During 
Mr.  Seavey's  life  he  often  aided  with 
his  private  means  girls  who  could  not 
otherwise  have  completed  the  course 
of  the  school.  Once  at  a  "  general  re- 
union "  the  caterer  failed  to  send  the 
feast  in  due  time,  and  the  association 
decided  to  use  the  hundred  dollars  so 
saved  for  the  benefit  of  girls  who  might 
need  it.  Mr.  Seavey's  death  occurred 
soon  after,  and  his  old  pupils  deter- 
mined to  perpetuate  his  name  and 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL    57 

memory  by  raising  a  sum  of  money 
to  be  known  as  the  "  Seavey  Fund." 
The  income  of  this  fund,  with  other 
sums  that  might  be  added,  was  to  be 
used  for  loans  "  without  interest,  to 
be  paid  at  the  convenience  of  the 
borrower."  Trustees  were  appointed, 
and  a  committee  of  the  association 
was  to  regulate  the  disposition  of  the 
income,  Miss  Badger  acting  as  trea- 
surer. Every  year  the  graduating  class 
is  told  the  story  of  this  fund,  and  asked 
to  appoint  a  class  collector  to  receive 
the  annual  subscriptions  of  her  class- 
mates. If  this  collection  were  made 
in  every  class,  even  by  gifts  of  very 
small  sums,  the  committee  could  en- 
large the  work  in  ways  now  open- 
ing. As  it  is,  if  the  givers  could  know 
in  detail  how  lives  have  been  changed 


58  A    HISTORY   OF 

by  opportunities  given  at  the  critical 
moment,  if  they  could  read  the  let- 
ters and  see  the  faces  of  those  who 
testify  what  the  fund  has  done  for 
them,  as  they  come  to  return  the 
loans  from  time  to  time,  or  to  tell 
why  they  must  yet  delay,  gifts  would 
be  bestowed  more  joyfully,  if  not 
more  abundantly.  The  work  is  neces- 
sarily quiet.  Aid  is  given  only  to  girls 
of  some  ability,  and  usually  to  those 
only  who  have  proved  themselves 
able  by  a  year's  work  in  the  school. 
The  invested  fund  is  about  four  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  income  of  this,  sup- 
plemented by  the  annual  gifts  of  the 
alumnae  and  by  money  returned,  has 
enabled  the  treasurer  to  pay  in  loans, 
since  the  establishment  of  the  fund  in 
1868,  over  sixteen  thousand  dollars. 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   59 

A  smaller  body  of  the  alumnse 
forms  the  Samuel  Eliot  Memorial  As- 
sociation. Its  purpose  is  "  to  hold 
Dr.  Eliot's  life  and  work  in  grateful 
memory,  to  cherish  his  ideals  of  the 
Girls'  High  School,  and  to  work  for 
their  fulfilment."  Beginning  in  1899 
with  a  few  of  Dr.  Eliot's  old  pupils 
and  associates,  it  has  added  to  its 
numbers  others  who  desire  to  work 
for  its  purposes.  At  present  it  gives  to 
the  school  four  times  a  year  an  hour 
to  be  remembered  and  enjoyed,  — 
a  Christmas  concert,  a  talk  on  birds 
or  pictures,  or  stories  of  the  past 
such  as  Dr.  Hale  or  Mrs.  Livermore 
can  tell.  In  June  it  invites  the  mem- 
bers of  the  graduating  classes  to  a  re- 
ception. Under  the  care  of  an  editor 
appointed  by  the  association,  two 


60  A   HISTORY   OF 

pages  of  the  "  Distaff,"  the  school 
paper,  are  filled  each  month  by  the 
alumnse;  and  here  let  us  say  for  the 
"Distaff"  that  it  is  not  only  a  well- 
conducted  school  paper,  but  has  often 
been  so  financially  successful  that  its 
editors  have  presented,  from  its  profits, 
gifts  of  casts  or  pictures  to  the  school. 

The  smallest  associations  of  alum- 
nse  are  those  formed  by  each  class  on 
its  graduation,  and  their  annual  class 
meetings  do  much  to  foster  that  loy- 
alty which  often  results  in  tangible 
service  to  the  school. 

In  speaking  of  gifts,  those  of  the 
graduating  classes  should  not  be  for- 
gotten. Even  in  the  lower  classes 
such  offerings  are  not  uncommon. 
Other  gifts  have  come  from  the  class 
associations,  as  memorials  of  some 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   61 

classmate  whose  name  they  thus 
linked  to  the  school  she  loved.  The 
Emma  A.  Temple  Memorial  Library 
of  choice  literature  ;  the  Margaret  A. 
Badger  memorial  fund,  part  of  which 
has  been  used  in  Miss  Badger's  own 
physical  laboratory,  part  of  which  still 
awaits  final  disposition;  the  portraits 
of  the  head  masters;  Miss  Caryl's 
portrait  recently  painted  by  Miss 
Grace  Geer  and  given  by  her,  through 
the  Samuel  Eliot  Memorial  Associa- 
tion, —  all  these  testify  the  gratitude 
and  loyalty  of  the  alumnae  to  their 
alma  mater  and  to  those  who  repre- 
sent her. 

Of  the  third  source  of  strength,  — 
noble  traditions,  —  perhaps  no  more 
need  be  said.  They  form  the  history 
of  the  school  as  it  has  been  so  imper- 


62  A   HISTORY   OF 

fectly  sketched.  As  we  dwell  upon 
its  past,  it  rises  up  before  us  as  a  beau- 
tiful and  gracious  person.  But  what 
can  give  personality  to  this  school  or 
to  any  institution  ?  Is  it  not  the  vital 
force  that  has  been  put  into  it  ?  Only 
as  life  goes  in  can  life  come  forth. 
Men  of  unusual  force  and  individu- 
ality, masters  of  the  school,  have  left 
their  impress  upon  it ;  many  culti- 
vated and  noble  women  have  had 
their  share  in  its  life  as  teachers ;  thou- 
sands of  eager  young  spirits  have 
passed  in  and  out  of  its  doors,  giv- 
ing and  receiving  inspiration.  The 
personality  of  the  great  school  is  the 
life  of  all  its  members,  past  or  pre- 
sent, whose  trained  minds  and  enlight- 
ened spirit  are  reproducing  its  ideals 
in  anything  they  are  called  upon 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   63 

to  do.  These  ideals  of  intellectual 
thoroughness,  simplicity,  self-control, 
honor,  and  reverence  are  our  heritage. 
Happy  the  school  with  such  traditions. 
May  those  who  celebrate  its  centennial 
find  them  undimmed. 


THE   DEDICATION  OF  THE 

WEST  NEWTON  STREET 

SCHOOL 

THE  dedication  of  the  new  building  of 
the  Girls'  High  and  Normal  School  took 
place  on  April  19,  1871.  Rev.  W.  H.  Cud- 
worth  of  East  Boston  offered  prayer.  The 
keys  of  the  building  were  delivered  by 
Alderman  Jenkins,  representing  the  city 
government,  to  Mayor  Gaston,  who,  ac- 
cepting them  in  the  name  of  the  School 
Committee,  presented  them  to  the  Rev. 
Henry  Burroughs,  chairman  of  the  Normal 
School  Committee;  by  him  they  were 
given  to  Dr.  Ephraim  Hunt,  master  of  the 
school.  Dr.  Samuel  Eliot  presented  the 
casts  and  the  frieze,  which  adorn  the  hall, 
in  the  name  of  the  Social  Science  Associa- 


DEDICATION  65 

tion.  These  casts,  and  the  reason  for  the 
choice,  were  explained  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Per- 
kins. A  note  of  regret  from  the  Hon. 
Charles  Sumner  was  read.  Addresses  were 
made  by  Ex-Governor  Washburn,  Super- 
intendent John  D.  Philbrick,  Mr.  Charles 
W.  Slack,  and  Mr.  Loring  Lothrop. 

The  music,   in   charge    of    Mr.  Julius 
Eichberg,  consisted  of,  — 

"MARCH    OF   THE   PRIESTS,"    ATHALIE 

Mendelssohn 
ODE.    Written  for  the  occasion  by 

Miss  Mary  G.  Morrison 
Music  by  Mr.  Eichberg 

THE  430  PSALM  Schubert 

«<YE  SONS  OF  ISRAEL  Beethoven 

"LIFT  THINE  EYES,"  TRIO  Mendelssohn 

ORIGINAL  HYMN  written  by  Miss  Eliza  G.  S<wett 


DR.  ELIOT'S  ADDRESS 

MR. CHAIRMAN:  It  is  my  pleasant 
office  to  offer,  in  behalf  of  all  those 
who  have  contributed  toward  placing 
this  collection  of  casts  here,  their  con- 
tribution toward  the  success  and  the 
development  of  this  school.  We  have 
thought  that  while  there  is  enough 
controversy  in  the  educational  world 
as  to  the  proportion  which  different 
studies  should  take  in  it,  while  some 
of  us  are  very  much  on  one  side  and 
some  on  the  other,  and  not  so  many 
of  us,  perhaps,  between  the  two,  with 
regard  to  the  prominence  which  should 
be  given  to  one  study  above  another, 
there  is  an  opportunity  for  those  of  us 


DR.  ELIOT'S  ADDRESS       67 

who  believe  in  its  influence  to  advo- 
cate one  study  not  generally  advo- 
cated, and  to  press  its  claims  upon 
the  thoughts  and  the  affections  of  this 
educated  community.  Fair  as  our 
school  system  is,  and  adorned  as  it  is 
with  all  the  light  and  beauty  that 
stream  in  from  the  past  upon  the  pre- 
sent, there  is  one  ray  which  has  not 
yet  penetrated  far,  one  that  comes  from 
the  art  of  the  ancient  world,  one  that, 
if  it  comes,  comes  here,  as  everywhere, 
fraught  with  light  and  benediction. 
About  the  place  that  should  be  as- 
signed to  Greek  language  or  literature 
in  a  programme  of  study  there  may 
be  a  question,  but  about  the  place  to 
be  assigned  to  Greek  art  there  is  no 
question,  and  there  can  be  no  question 
among  those  who  know  what  art  is 


68       DR.  ELIOT'S  ADDRESS 

and  what  power  it  is  susceptible  of 
wielding.  If  it  were  only  as  a  mere 
negation  of  that  high  pressure  put 
upon  our  children;  if  it  were  only  as 
a  softening  element  introduced  into 
study  that  needs  to  be  softened  and 
shaded  down,  — 

"  Quam   neque   longa   dies   nee   pietas   mitigat 
ulla,"  — 

like  the  harper  who  lays  his  open  palm 
upon  the  harp  to  deaden  its  vibrations, 
aesthetic  education,  if  it  found  a  place 
among  us,  would  soften  and  sweeten 
the  whole  course  of  study.  But  it  is 
not  merely  as  a  negation  that  art 
should  be  welcomed  among  us;  it 
ought  to  come  full  of  positiveness, 
full  of  that  inspiration  which  we  all 
stretch  out  our  arms  to  accept  and 


DR.  ELIOT'S  ADDRESS       69 

open  our  hearts  to  bless.  Greek  art  is 
the  expression  of  the  finest  culture  and 
the  deepest  thought  that  have  ever 
found  an  abiding-place  upon  this 
earth.  It  was  the  pursuit  of  the  best 
men  in  Athens  and  throughout  Greece. 
It  ought  to  be  cherished  by  us,  it  ought 
to  be  made  more  of  for  the  lessons, 
not  merely  artistic,  but  intellectual  and 
moral,  which  it  conveys.  In  its  simpli- 
city, its  idealism,  in  its  unbroken  and 
unshaken  truthfulness,  it  is  a  teacher 
of  principles  which  no  scholar  can 
learn  without  being  the  better  for  them, 
and  no  community  cherish  without 
being  sanctified  by  them.  If  we  wel- 
come it  here,  we  shall  welcome  some- 
thing which  will  make  our  school 
brighter,  our  homes  dearer,  and  our 
whole  lives  nobler.  We  shall  welcome 


yo       DR.  ELIOT'S  ADDRESS 

something  which  we  can  take  into  our 
breasts  and  cherish  there,  and  while 
we  cherish  it,  it  cherishes  us  and  gives 
life  and  breadth  and  purity. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  offer  in  the  name, 
not  merely  of  the  American  Social 
Science  Association,  but  more  particu- 
larly in  the  name  of  those  members 
of  the  association,  and  those  friends  of 
theirs  not  members,  who  have  taken 
part  in  this  work,  the  collection  which 
we  see  on  and  about  these  walls.  It 
has  been  carefully  chosen,  under  the 
guidance  of  one  who  will  follow  me 
in  explaining  his  choice.  We  owe  to 
him,  I  am  free  to  say,  a  large  share  of 
what  will  make  this  collection  valu- 
able here,  and  will  lead,  as  we  trust, 
to  its  being  imitated  elsewhere,  and  I 
beg  the  teachers  and  the  pupils  of  this 


DR.  ELIOT'S  ADDRESS       71 

school  to  feel  that  we  ask  them  and 
depend  upon  them  to  help  us  in  this 
experiment  which  we  are  trying.  If 
they  value  these  expressions  of  art,  if 
they  think  well  of  them  and  speak 
well  of  them,  if  they  get  that  good 
from  them  which  we  believe  they  will, 
the  ripple  which  is  stirred  here  to-day 
will  spread  far  beyond  this  school  and 
this  city,  to  every  part  of  the  country ; 
and  there  will  gradually  come  into  the 
education  of  the  United  States  an  ses- 
thetic  element  which  it  now  wants, 
but  which  is  as  sure  to  come  through 
this  experiment,  or  through  some  bet- 
ter experiment,  as  the  sun  is  sure  to 
rise  to-morrow. 

I  beg  your  permission,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, in  conclusion,  to  read  a  part  of 
a  letter,  which  was  addressed  to  me 


72       DR.  ELIOT'S  ADDRESS 

to  be  read  today.  It  comes  from  the 
friend  who  gave  this  frieze  which  runs 
about  these  walls,  a  friend  who  was 
the  first  to  propose  this  work,  whose 
sympathy  and  enthusiasm  have  en- 
couraged it  at  every  step,  and  who 
ought  to  be  here  to-day  in  the  flesh, 
as  I  doubt  not  he  is  in  the  spirit,  to 
witness  the  result  of  his  efforts  and 
his  hopes,  —  Mr.  James  M.  Barnard : 
"  A  great  interest  is  felt  here,"  he  writes 
from  Italy,  "in  this  movement,  par- 
ticularly in  the  plan  which  has  been 
adopted  for  the  public  schools  by  the 
association.  I  wish  I  could  be  present 
to  rejoice  with  you  in  the  inauguration. 
Receive  my  profound  sympathy.  Mrs. 
Barnard  unites  with  me  in  presenting 
to  the  Girls'  High  School,  through  the 
association,  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon, 


DR.  ELIOT'S  ADDRESS       73 

reproduced  by  Brucciani  from  the  ori- 
ginals in  the  British  Museum."  And 
now,  Mr.  Chairman,  not  only  the 
frieze  but  the  statues  and  busts  be- 
come the  property  of  this  school ;  and 
so  long  as  they  stand  here,  may  they 
stand  as  silent  but  not  the  less  effec- 
tive teachers  of  all  that  is  good  and 
pure  in  the  human  heart,  and  all  that 
is  truest  and  noblest  in  human  lives. 


CELEBRATION 

OF  THE 

FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

OF  THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE 

GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL 
OF  BOSTON 

JANUARY     1 6,   1903 

BY  THE 

GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL 
ASSOCIATION 


RECEPTION  TO  MISS  CARYL 
of 


GREETING 

By  the  President,  Miss  Gertrude  T.  Jacobs 

ASPECTS  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  SCHOOL 
i  THE  EARLY  PERIOD  Miss  Harriet  E.  Caryl 
I  IN  WAR  TIME  Mrs.  Julia  Jettison  Wright 

SONG  —  "  To  Thee,  O  Country  "    By  the  Audience 
Words,  Anna  Eichberg  King 
Music,  Julius  Eichberg 

3  FROM  1868  TO  i87z    Miss  Marion  A.  Hatves 

4  FROM  1872  TO  1885    Miss  Elizabeth  L.  Smith 

SONGS  Harriet  S.  Whittier 

a  "Slave  Song"  Del  Riego 

b  "The  Year  's  at  the  Spring"       Beach 

5  THE  PRESENT  Miss  Parnell  S.  Murray 
ADDRESS                  By  the  Principal,  John  Tetlonv     f 
SINGING  OF  ODE 


One  item  of  the  programme  was  neces- 
sarily omitted  from  the  printed  order  of 
exercises.  Before  the  singing  of  the  ode, 
it  remained  for  Miss  Woods  to  tell  Miss 
Caryl  that  a  little  of  the  love  and  gratitude 
of  her  old  pupils  had  taken  tangible  form, 
and  to  ask  her  acceptance  of  a  beautiful 
colonial  desk,  and  a  check  for  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  to  be  used  for  pur- 
poses of  travel. 


ODE 

Immortal  spring  of  hope  and  truth, 

To  thy  clear  stream  we  press, 
And  drink  once  more  thy  precious  store 

In  life's  long  toil  and  stress. 
For  still  thy  gracious  word  goes  forth, 

And  still,  though  scattered  wide, 
Thy  children  come  and  find  a  home 

Where  love  and  faith  abide. 

Full  proudly  on  thy  sacred  head 

Thou  wear'st  the  civic  crown  ; 
Thy  children  claim  the  deathless  fame 

Of  their  historic  town. 
Oh,  worthy  may  thy  daughters  prove 

Of  those  brave  dames  of  old, 
Whose  sons  of  might  upheld  the  right 

In  peace,  or  battle  bold  ! 


ODE  79 

Full  proudly,  too,  thou  callest  thine 

The  child  of  stranger  lands. 
Thy  wise  control  the  eager  soul 

Shall  mould,  with  gentle  hands, 
Till,  race  and  station  all  forgot, 

As  one,  all  learn  of  thee 
Of  equal  right  in  that  good  fight 

For  Truth,  that  makes  men  free. 

So  thee  we  hail,  our  mother  dear, 

With  love  and  trust  untold  ; 
For  thine  the  face  where  dwells  the  grace 

Of  strength  that  grows  not  old. 
To  thee  we  brought  our  childish  need  ; 

Thy  hand  has  heaped  our  store  ; 
And  every  year  we  '11  greet  thee  here, 

And  love  thee  evermore. 

FLORENCE  Dix, 
Class  of '68. 


TEACHERS  OF  THE  GIRLS' 
HIGH  SCHOOL 

HEAD  MASTERS. 

*Loring  Lothrop,  1852-1856. 
*  William  H.  Seavey,  1856-1868. 

Ephraim  Hunt,  1868-1872. 
*Samuel  Eliot,  1872-1876. 

Homer  B.  Sprague,  1876-1885. 
_— John  Tetlow,  1885 . 

MASTERS. 

— -Samuel  Thurber,  1 88 1-1884;  1887 

Thomas  H.  H.  Knight,  1898 . 

ASSISTANTS. 
M.  Jennie  Tarr,  1852-1855. 

* Kimball,  1852-1853. 

Hannah  P.  Dodge,  fi  853-1 853. 
Guild,  11853-1854. 

f  Uncertain.       *  Deceased. 


82  TEACHERS  OF 

Mary  F.  Eastman,  1853-1855. 
Caroline  C.  Johnson,  1853-1856;  Head 

Assistant,  1855-1856. 
*Mary  A.  Currier,  1855-1859  ;  Head  As- 
sistant, 1856-1859. 
*Maria  A.  Bacon,  1855-1871. 
-Harriet  E.  Caryl,  1855-1903  j  Head  As- 
sistant, 1859-1876;  Assistant  Princi- 
pal, 1876-1903. 

Caroline  E.  Sparrell,  1856-1859. 
*Margaret  A.  Badger,  1856-1898. 
*Helen  W.  Avery,  1857-1870. 

Mary  E.  Scales,  1859-1878. 
*Emma  A.  Temple,  1859-1887. 
Katharine  Knapp,  1859-1894. 
*Annie  S.  Greene,  1860-1862. 
-  Adeline  L.  Sylvester,  1860 ;  Assist- 
ant Principal,  1903 . 

*Mary  H.  Ellis,  1862-1866. 
Frances  A.  Poole,  1862-1870. 

*  Deceased. 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   83 

Elizabeth  C.  Light,  1863-1873. 

Bessie  T.  Capen,  1867-1875. 
*Charlotte  T.  Ehlin,  1868-1869. 

Christine  T.  Mason,  1869-1870. 
*Adeline  S.  Tufts,  1869-1875. 

Lucy  O.  Fessenden,  1869-1876. 

Julia  A.    Jellison,   1869-1875;    1878- 
1881. 

Mary  M.  Melcher,  1870-1871. 

Anna  B.  Thompson,  1870-1871. 

Helen  M.  Dunbar,  1870-1872. 
*  Alice  M.  Wellington,  1870-1875. 

Rebecca  R.  Joslin,  1870-1875. 

Emerette  O.  Patch,  1870 . 

—  S.  Annie  Shorey,  1870 . 

*C.  E.  Wheeler,  1871-1872. 
*Ellen  O.  Swain,  1871-1874. 
-Augusta  C.  Kimball,  1871-1902. 

Mary  E.  Holbrook,  1872-1873. 
*Florena  Gray,  1872-1875. 

*  Deceased. 


84  TEACHERS  OF 

Mary  J.  Allison,  1872-1877. 
Ellen  M.  Folsom,  1872-1881. 
*Lucy  R.  Woods,  1872-1904. 

Laura  B.  White,  1872 . 

L.  B.  Holbrook,  1873-1874. 
Mary  E.  Oliver,  1874-1875. 
Mary  L.  B.  Capen,  1874-1878. 
Mary  S.  Gage,  1875-1879. 
R.  E.  Cole,  1875-1879. 
Augusta  R.  Curtis,  1875-1879. 
Mary  E.  Lathrop,  1875-1881. 
Emily  M.  Deland,  1875-1885. 

*  Annie  E.  Chace,  1876-1877. 

Elizabeth  L.  Smith,  1877 . 

Sarah  L.  Miner,  1878-1881. 
Elizabeth  C.  Coburn,  1878-1885. 
Charlotte  M.  Gardner,  1878-1899. 

*  Julia  A.  Stetson,  1881-1882. 
Clara  E.  Webster,  1881-1887. 
Katharine  H.  Shute,  1883-1885. 

*  Deceased. 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   85 

Helen  A.  Gardner,  1883-1903. 

Emma  G.  Shaw,  1883 . 

Alia  W.  Foster,  1883 . 

Sarah  J.  C.  Needham,  1883 . 

V.  Colonna  Murray,  1884-1888. 
Mary  B.  King,  1885-1891. 

Parnell  S.  Murray,  1885 . 

Emma  A.  Kaan,  1886-1896. 
M.  Medora  Adams,  1887 • 


^Zepherine  N.  Brown,  1888 

^Isabel  P.  George,  1888 . 

Laura  E.  Richardson,  1894 

-    May  M.  Smith,  1895 . 

_x^_    Elizabeth  M.  Richardson,  189* 
^-frrace  G.  Starbird,  189* 
Mary  E.  Winn,  189* 

Sarah  E.  Potter,  1897 • 

*  Grace  H.  Perkins,  1898-1900. 
Florence  M.  Kilburn,  1898-1901. 
N.  Arnold,  1899 

*  Deceased. 


86  TEACHERS  OF 

Julia  K.  Ordway,  1901-1902. 

Helen  Torrey,  1901 . 

Clara  H.  Hanks,  1901 . 

Frances  H.  Manny,  1903 

Ellen  P.  Tryon,  1903 . 


Gertrude  T.  Davis,  1903— 
Louise  M.  Endicott,  1903- 


SPECIAL  TEACHERS. 
Drawing. 

Lucy  W.  Ripley,  1852-1853. 
A.  F.  Bellows,  1853-1855. 
William  N.  Bartholomew,  1855-1871, 
Charles  Furneaux,  1871-1872. 
Henry  Hitchings,  1872-1873. 
Mercy  A.  Bailey,  1872-1881. 
*Charles  A.  Barry,  1873-1874. 
Mary  E.  Carter,  1874-1879. 

*  Deceased. 


THE   GIRLS'  HIGH   SCHOOL   87 


French. 

Jules  Macherel,  fiSf 3-1861. 
P.  W.  Gengembre,  1861-1864. 
E.  Coquard,  1864-1866. 
Prospere  Morand,  1866-1878. 
Marie  de  Maltchyce,  1880-1886 
Alphonse  N.  Van  Daell,  1887-1 

German. 

Phillip  Willner,  1860-1866. 
*E.  C.  F.  Krauss,  1866-1883. 
*  J.Frederick  Stein,  1884-1894. 

Jacob  Lehman,  1894 . 

Music. 

L.  H.  Southard,  1852-11856. 
Charles  Butler,  11856-1858. 
Carl  Zerrahn,  1858-1867. 
*Julius  Eichberg,  1867-1887. 

f  Uncertain.       *  Deceased. 


88  TEACHERS  OF 

J.  B.  Sharland,  1887-1889. 
Henry  Carey,  1889-1901. 
Grant  Drake,  1902 . 

Physical  and  Focal  Exercises  and  Reading. 

Lewis  B.  Munroe,  1865-1870. 
Ellen  M.  Dyer,  1879-1884. 
Helen  D.  Baright,  1884-1890. 
Sara  E.  Miller,  1890-1897. 
Ruth  B.  Whittemore,  1897-1899. 
M.  Eloise  Talbot,  1897-1900. 
Edith  T.  Sears,  1899 • 

LABORATORY  ASSISTANT. 
-Margaret  C.  Brawley,  1877 . 

TRAINING  DEPARTMENT. 

Jennie  H.  Stickney,  1864-1872. 
Sarah  D.  Duganne,  1864-1868. 
Lucy  O.  Fessenden,  1868-1869. 
Mary  A.  J.  Frothingham,  1869-1869. 


THE  GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL   89 

*Florence  M.  Stetson,  1869-1872. 
Bertha  W.  Hintz,  1871-1872. 

Teacher  of  Music. 
Luther  M.  Mason,  1870-1872. 

"Deceased. 


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